I love that you can see Marco’s tools in the background after his DIY thumb removal… It’s something I’ve always been interested in, but since the surgery on my leg I’ve been wanting to do a minor amputation more and more — my surgery caused some nerve damage so I have no feeling in part of my lower leg, and observing the different ways that my brain interprets it is just fascinating. I guess sometimes one is driven by fetishism, and sometimes by curiosity.
That said, I like having long opposable thumbs, so for me I think I’d go with a finger, probably the ring finger (I think Steve Haworth told me some time ago, when we were implanting the magnets, that if you’re going to mess with a finger, that’s the one to do because it’s the weakest, and even if you lose it completely it does not have a major impact on your ability to use your hand).
BME/News and Modblog highlight only a small fraction of what
now i know what it would look like if a zombie bit a thumb off… a would be a more ragged version of this.
Perfect username for the first post in this entry!
Wow. You finally did it….you finally grossed me out. Congratulations!!!! Just when I’d thought it was impossible.
Wow. You finally did it….you finally grossed me out. Congratulations!!!! Just when I’d thought it was impossible.
thats incredible. i love it. i want my ring finger off all over again!
Anyone ever see that episode of Aeon Flux in which amputating certain fingers becomes the fashion du jour? This totally reminds me of that.
Oh… my… Guiness…
Why the thumb?! It’s the one you need the most. And how is he going to sew that?
“it does not have a major impact on your ability to use your hand).”
lil bit corny response but what happens if you want to wear a ring? You go to put on a ring on your ring finger and OOOPS No finger to put the ring on, DOH!
This also gives Nine Inch Nail’s song Ringfinger a WHOLE different view lol
wow. wheres the blood?
It’s amazing what the mentally ill will do to themselves. I guess sad is more like it, or amazingly stupid.
Seriously, this just reduced me to tears. I can imagine the personal mental torture to make someone do something like this…so so sad.
I cant imagine the hypocritical idiocy that creates comments like the ones above.
I would not do this. But if marco likes it… I’m okay with it. Looks very creepy for me.
And incredibly cool by the way. 🙂
So true, Shannon! My left ring finger is still fucked up from that dog walking incident, and I have to say, I never really need it anyways… 🙂
For some reason this doesn’t gross me out at all. I think it’s the lack of any excess blood and the way he is apparently just calmly holding his hand up for the picture.
I knew a guy who worked on a drill rig who was missing a bunch of finger parts. At least this is sanitary.
this looks so damn clean cut, it’s amazing. Almost doesn’t look real.
i thought you’d been at your photoediting again shannon!!
#9, you know that until just a few decades ago, being gay was counted as a mental illness, and was completely incomprehensible to most people? Oh wait, you probably still think it is an illness. Gotta love America.
#10, you wouldn’t be saying that if the mod was a “nice” “feminine” tattoo. Can you explain why one is a positive thing and the other a negative thing, WITHOUT referring to your own aesthetic preferences?
By all means discuss those preferences, just don’t conceal them behind a wall of wilful misunderstanding.
I personally find getting tattooed extremely painful. I guess this would be painful too. Having kids in the future will fuck up my body far more than an amputation (having kids being a selfish decision however it’s dressed up – the world is overpopulated already).
I guess Cere put it more succinctly.
I’m really interested on how he did it… it’s such a clean cut and I’m amazed at the lack of blood.
Ugly.
holy crap
i’m not disgusted by it, & i’m not amazed by it … it just has me in wonder. i know this is probably the worst question to ask here … but i really don’t understand sometimes the urges that drive human beings to perform certain mods.
*shrugs*
like, why would you want to cut one of your body parts off?
but then again, my mother asks me why i want to get tattoos .. so who the hell am i to talk.
what happens to the tendon when an at home amputation is performed? my brother’s tendon once snapped and ended up curled up in his wrist, and he had to get it re attached. now assuming this person doesn’t desire mobility of their stump, can they just leave the tendon wherever it ends up?
I’m really impressed at the clean cut.
Personaly, I wouldn’t have taken my thumb I think I would miss that too much.
Wow the cut is so clean… Like, you know, the prisoner who was cut into small slices to be studied by scientists. Looks surrealistic.
I just wonder how it will heal, and if he did something else (like going to the hospital so they can clean this up).
I always wanted to know what inside a finger/ thumb looked like…and now I do.
Somehow it’s not quite what I expected…
Amazingly clean looking cut, though it’s made me wonder if there’ll ever be Strawberry or Cherry aeros 🙂
Well, now that I look at the thumb I can see it’s not entirely gone, I could live with a mobile nub…
The inside of the thumb looks so amazing. What a cool shot, and a neat Modblog post. Too bad there isn’t a video of the process to go along with it.
Yet again, I’m amazed at the utter obnoxiousness and ignorance of Empress.
What is so sad about something that makes someone happy, just because it disturbs you or because you can’t seem to comprehend something beyond your standards of normalcy?
holy crap, i just gasped for like thirty seconds.
Comment to Em.
I will explain to you just cannot right now.
Hugz.
congrats!
thats pimp. on another note i love going to #9′s blog and laughing at what tool she is.
@ #19, i think it’s the LACK of blood that squidges me out the most. if it was covered with blood, i think i would be more inclined to look at it in awe. it’s a great job, it just creeps me out to look at all fresh-like.
chiselled maybe? the finger chiselling on bmevideo trailor #3 i believe looks just as clean
#10, assuming the person’s personal modivation behind it isnt really right, is it? Not without talking to them first and seeing their reasoning, I’m sure its something they put a lot of thought into.
I so cannot stop starring at it.
too cool.
Repeating the above post: I would be shocked if the pictured person did not consider this procedure lightly in light of some the comments made. I am sure they did in view of shannon’s comment (although never believe what you read- and i mean that more in terms of newspapers than anything). The reasons why i view body modification sites (amongst others) is mainly:
a) to learn and enlighten myself to other people’s views and perceptions of the body and
b) to see (sometimes) groundbreaking modifications which all interest me.
I always pertain (to public images etc) that if you cant be nice don’t say anything, although i agree that everyone should have their own views.
I suppose what i’m trying to say is that we should be here to look/discuss and learn rather than judge people when we don’t know them.
i forgot to say that i’m impressed by the surgical cleanliness and neatness of this procedure especially as it is D.I.Y 🙂
#9: if the only comments you plan to make are negative and shitty, I’de say stop making them but it’s your right to make yourself look like an asshole so go for it, as far as the things mentally ill people do to themselves, shit atleast he did’nt come over and cut off your thumbs
I like it. I would never do it personally (I’m a musician I need all my fingers) but i think that it is really interesting. Keeping with the theme of this website, if it makes the person happy then they should go for it.
Ahh! My first reaction, because most times these things are blurred. There is a chisel in the background so I assume that is what was used.
I have no problems with people wanting to amputate, but as a curious person I would like to know the story behind each one. Too bad there is no story to go with.
Re: #18
Uh, no I have gay friends and relatives, and being gay is not a mental illness, I believe it is how you are born. I support gay rights and I vote! Don’t assume you know me because I am expressing an opinion here. I look at tattooing, piercings as an art forms, a way to express yourself. Chopping off body parts that you need to function every day is just stupid, sorry. If suddenly the “mod” community said it was cool to chop off your arm would you think that was a good thing too? I am not a hypocrite, I have *zero* mods. I am a gawker here.
Since you don’t want kids, maybe you could start a trend in this community and do an at home hysterectomy or tubal ligation. Hey, you could put your uterus in resin and wear it around your neck! Or make bracelets out of your preserved fallopian tubes! You could start a reproductive part jewelry trend. Better yet, cut off your head, it would be so neat! Shannon could post the pics and we could all marvel at your severed spine!
How is he going to play video games?
House frau – Look, I realize you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about and haven’t bothered to research your incorrect insults and I have no idea why you’re even bothering with these posts, but… Yes, there are people who are getting hyserectomies on a voluntary basis in NO ANESTHESIA RITUALS. If you think the stuff on BME is intense, don’t ever ever ever ever ever try and meet fetishist doctors. They are way way way farther out there than anything I’ve ever posted here.
#18 Are you serious? You actually expect to look reasoned and intelligent by spewing some mindless vitriol about how having kids is selfish? I’m just… shocked, utterly shocked that anyone would say that. I just cannot wrap my brain around how much disgust it would take to maintain that point of view. Isn’t it exhausting? Have you ever watched someone play with their kids? That is not selfish.
And what, because someone disagrees with what they are seeing, that justifies you making snide little comments about their own personal view points? I would be so deeply offended if you implied I was homophobic because I think it takes a very warped mind to inflict this kind of damage to yourself (which I do). Not much different than Ann Coulter implying people ARE gay because they disagree with her. Now look, I ranted all over my computer.
Unpleasantness aside, I am mesmerized by this photo. Haunting, interesting and totally makes my stomach roll. Would never do it to myself, but I respect his right to do it. Still. Ew.
ditto.
and learn something before you make generalizing comments.
I think B Squared has the best point. I hope Marco took that into consideration. But presuming he did, House frau, I’m sure he didn’t remove something he needs for everyday life.
Honestly, you can lose the end joint of your thumb without serious impact to the functionality of your hand. Same goes for the end joint of all the fingers, going with the assumption there are no complications — which are definitely possible!!!
Don’t feel strongly one way or the other here but… had to respond to #19.
“you know that until just a few decades ago, being gay was counted as a mental illness, and was completely incomprehensible to most people? Oh wait, you probably still think it is an illness. Gotta love America.”
I feel I have to point out here that just because people once miscategorized certain tendencies as mental illnesses does not mean no one is crazy. Seriously.
JH – Actually, amputation drives of this type fall into that category… Large parts of the medical community agree that while they don’t know what causes people to desire to be amputees, they do know that once those people do it, they become “normal” and the drives to self harm go away, etc. because they have achieved their goal/body image… For a brief period there was a hospital in Scotland doing it to patients, but the politics of it scrubbed the program after a while.
At least they have that release afterwards. I deffinately don’t understand it, but if it’s what they want, then hell, go for it.
I’m really impressed with the cleaniness of the pic, it looks so unreal. and the mental strength to go against what you’ve been taught and what is purely instinctual (that if it hurts, don’t do it! and not to loose parts of your body). amazing transformation i’m sure.
Shannon, you are talking about a minute percentage of the world population. That is what the Nazis did to the jews, what Mengele did in Auschwitz. I doubt many people would do that willingly.
I suspect you are far more learned on this topic, Shannon, but most of the accounts I have read about self-amputees do not include having the urge fade after the removal of the offending limb. The one that sticks out most in my mind (although it was the first such account I ever read, so that’s probably why) invovles a man who removed his left leg, was happy for a time and then began talking about removing all his other limbs. I’ve always wanted to know more about this subjects, though. Educate me, professor Shannon. Are there any good sources for learning about this… er… mindset?
the thing is, House frau, these people ARE doing it willingly. there are no Nazis involved.
Fascinating… perhaps on some level a tad disturbing but still quite interesting.
Well painted lady, I find that very sad.
It has me in awe, though I wasn’t expecting it at all. I’m glad for the opportunity to see it, but I would have liked a little more warning :/ It’s funny how images of perfectly nice genitals get the censoring mosaic but bloody stumps are absolutely fine. Not blaming you, Shannon, just western culture.
i don’t understand it at all. but heck, to each his own. i’m not going to say, “he must have had balls” because clearly it was something he wanted as opposed to had to convince himself to do.
is it wrong that i sort of want to see the little piece he cut off?
I’m just trying to figure out what’s what. Can’t tell the bone from the fat from the miscellaneous tissue.
Malice Alice – Oh, absolutely there are people for whom the fetish is amputation, not the final body image. I doubt they would make it through the psyche screening required by doctors….
I’ve read both counts about voluntary amputation, the ones where it actually helped the person mentally and emotionally into doing what they wanted to, and the ones where it wasn’t enough and they had to keep going (never read it go to all limbs though). But so far (and I might just be mistaken) I have never read to this day people who regretted it since they have been thinking of the procedure for most of them, even since childhood. I personally do understand the attraction to amputation and I couldn’t explain why either.
Whats he gonna do with the thumb? He should make a key chain out of it.
1. The world is not over populated.
2. I wouldn’t do it to myself, but I certainly don’t think it’s wrong.
3. I’d like to learn more about fetishist doctors.
4. House Frau is sad. Who cares?
hahahaha, I couldnt agree with you more about your 4 points. No, it isnt wrong, I would also like to know more, and no, I really cant say I care.
Hysterectomies without anesthesia? Is there a URL, ‘cos that’s… yeah.
For amputation, if you google around “wannabes” “devotees” you’ll find some links.
Not that I would ever do it, nor do I find it particularly cool, but I guess it takes all kinds.
How did this guy get that to heal, anyway? Cauterize it, or what?
Way to bring the fucking Nazis into it. Isn’t that the best sign that an argument has gone to the point where nobody’s going to learn anything?
I know two people personally who have amputated/had amputated a part of their bodies. They are intelligent, well-adjusted people, and they are not constantly hankering for their next amputation “fix.” Though I’m sure that happens (considering humans will fetishize anything), it’s really fucking unfair to lump all voluntary amputees together like that.
Hmmh, that said, I was really mesmerized by this picture. What certainty it takes to actually put a chisel on a joint and go for it. As mentioned above, I’d love to read a personal account every time I see a picture or video like this; the motivations are fascinating.
Personally I wouldnt of done anything like this, though I say personally, I know its all perspective. I must say Im not on either the side of the critics of this, who banter on about how wrong it is, nor am I on the side that says you should do what makes you happy. Many serial killers do it because its an inner drive, the simple reason that people thing differently doesn’t support anything to be practiced in support of diversity. This is only self harm, and so is something that in the end is the choice of the person receiving it, Im just saying, dont write people off one way or another. If anyone would like to discuss this, just email me at [email protected]
i really wish i could come on to modblog at least once and not have abunch of ignorant comments left on things they easily could have just skipped over
can people no learn…..if you dont like it dont look at it, if you think its gross ok fine thats your opinion, you dont have to come and vomit your hate speech and closeminded comments on a community you obviously dont enjoy
Ooooh I just noticed that this person seems to have maybe plastic (?) holding around the thumb which is very smart to make a neater/cleaner cut with minimizing the tissues moving around during the cutting… it’d be nice to read an interview with this person.
akibare – There’s at least one experience on BME and it includes photos if I recall correctly.
i find it odd that someone who is willing to take part in the vouyeristic pleasures of this community would be so quick to judge. its just odd to me that some people can be so hard against something they know very little about, and have only their personal aesthetics to blame. but oh well…onto the correct subject.
i love this picture. its just great. and the mod is interesting. im curious to see answers to some of these questions.
shannon, new interview?
I’m still looking at the cross section trying to work out which bit’s which. I assume that’s a chisel in the background that he used to slice through? Wow, I wish I could keep my tools that sharp…
Incidentally, the set-up & sharp tools and so-on sort of make me think “DIY enthusiast”… hah, OK, that was unintentional but it’s staying in the edit. Anyway, they make me wonder if he has carpentry-type hobbies. I’d really miss a thumb for practical tasks, same as a typist would miss… well, any finger, I assume!
So, yeah, I understand why someone would want to – I just wonder what walk of life the guy’s going to be treading without a thumb, just to get a better image of how not having it impacts on his day to day life. Losing a thumb isn’t a big deal, that’s just the fall – the “landing” is the abilities it may cost you, and once he’s through the initial pain, that’s the sacrifice I find more fascinating.
Ring fingers have all the strength, man!
Check out Squirt101: the “spiderman” technique make the girlies cum quickest. And THAT is a beautiful thing.
You’ve been going too easy on us, Shannon…
I was actually expecting a slow day. \m/
Or would that be \n./ ?
wot with the amputation and all..
I clicked on my ModBlog bookmark just now thinking, “I probably shouldn’t be looking here while I’m eating tomato based sauce.”
Well, I was right.
This is disgusting. Why would you intentionally limit your ability to hold objects/use you hands?!
That’s it, people — I am not reading this website again, this is too much, it’s glorifying mental illness.
i really don’t see the difference between an amputation and a piercing or tattoo. if it improves your appearance IN YOUR EYES then its none of my damn business to say you are wrong.
When I read the thing about Nazis, I laughed. Why does it always end up dissolving to Nazis?
A long time ago, I heard about voluntary amputation, and I couldn´t believe it happens! Then I´ve read about a case, and thought it was extremely rare.
Thanks to BME now I know that it happens much more often than I could thought.
I don´t think he likes to play videogames… And I become amazed to imagine for how long people who amputates wonder how life will be after amputation, to be sure that´s what it wants.
[If someone find the BME post about the fettishist doctors, please, put it here!!!]
Great picture!
I’m repeating others, but I love how cleanly it is cut! and I’m also supporting Lore’s suggestion of an interview, I’d love to know more about the whole process!
heh, house frau and spacelab made me laugh. Isn’t it ironic that such close-minded people frequent BMEzine? yeah, it might change its way of life a little bit. yeah, it’s kinda weird. so what? circumsision is amputation of a body part on the place that counts the most for a man. and there are still more people than I can count getting circumsised voluntarily.
kinda makes you wanna dig a spoon in there. if only they made spoons that small.
Sugar spoons are that small, I believe. 🙂
Wow, this is one of those very few entries that bother me. Still though, it’s awesome!
This will seriously impair his ability to play video games.
yeah it’s settled, i’m mesmerized by the difference in tissue within the thumb.
B Squared, He could always just get a Wii. No thumbs required!
is it wrong that i sort of want to see the little piece he cut off?
Posted by painted lady on March 6th, 2007 at 1:14 am
i giggled when i read that, cause i couldn’t agree more.
oh yes, this is soo cool! How fucking deluded and sick do you have to be to applaud this behavior instead of helping these people to get some serious psychiatric attention? Good job, encouraging the mentally ill, Shannon!
holy crap, people. this person did not whack off their thumbtip with an ax or something. they obviously know what they are doing, otherwise they would be at the hospital, getting yelled at by people like you.
Video (different person, from the BME movie, which is in perpetual production it seems, so please don’t ask when it’s coming out)
I love when people brand these types of modifications as being “sick” and saying that the person who does this stuff needs “psychiatric help.” More fucking power to them.
I agree with what #27/Squibbles said – for some reason, I just didn’t expect the inside of one’s thumb to look like that, haha!
90/Luxuria – Trust me, right or wrong, you’re barking at deaf ears because I not only believe in the ABSOLUTE right to ones own body, but I also believe that doing these things is much more often a positive than a negative act in terms of the entirety of its consequences.
This is one mod that I simply do not understand. Can somebody please explain to me the reasoning behind it? Assuming that he did think it out fully, I’m really curious to hear what those reasons are.
All I thought was ‘That would make guitar playing difficult’.. I have a one track mind.
I dig the idea of amputating a digit or two but I need pretty much all my fingers for guitar. Hmm.. maybe my right pinky could go.
Well I think that what people do to themselves is their personal business and honestly you can’t claim a person is mentally ill because what they are doing is not considered norm in society.
way cool anyone know what he is going to do with the part of the thumb he took off.
I don’t understand why people come here to see body mods and then bitch about them. Hi! This is ModBlog. This is not Bath & Body Works. What do you expect to see here? BODY MODS!
Eesh.
Anyhow, f the haters, that is a beautiful mod. What an amazing DIY job. I’ve seen less clean surgical sites. Very well done. I am impressed and very jealous as I would so love to remove the tip of my wedding ring finger as I never wear my wedding ring, due to my job/employment being rough on precious metals/diamonds. My husband may not agree with my wishes, but even he doesn’t bring Nazi’s into the picture.
Grow up or leave. Geesh.
I dig the idea of amputating a digit or two but I need pretty much all my fingers for guitar.
Django Reinhardt and Jerry Garcia managed to get by with “modified” hands.
You know, I don’t have any desire to cut off any of my body parts, but this kind of makes me happy, mostly because I know it made him happy to do it. His body, his choice, all of that.
Also, seems that back in #53, House_frau proved Godwin’s Law! ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_Law ).
82/ Good point, but maybe I’ll start another thing up by pointing out that most men who are circumcised had no say in the procedure. At least this person got to decide and control what happened to their body.
And, on a deeper note, the \n./ cracked my ass up!
Damn, that wiki link is screwy.
This one, maybe?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_Law
I can’t comprehend the closed-mindedness of all the people here posting that this person must be mentally ill.
It’s not your body, it’s theirs – so why speak out against it?
This bothered me quite a bit because the part of my body I like most are my hands…lol…but apart from that sillyness, what I really like to know is what makes up a radical decision like that.
there’s a fine line between mutilation and modification. the people who perform these procedures and alter their bodies in these extreme ways know how it’s going to affect their life. they’ve thought about the medical repercussions, as well as the sociological and usually it’s because they feel these strong urges their entire life that something is missing (or in this case, maybe NEEDED to be missing 🙂 because someone looking at it from the outside does or doesn’t agree with it doesn’t change the way it makes the person undergoing these changes feel. what’s plastic surgery? i would say that some of those extreme plastic makeover reality shows are a lot more “insane” than someone choosing to partially amputate a thumb. you tell me, who decides what’s mutilation and what’s modification? and who are we as outsiders to judge.
I’m amazed at how neat and clean the whole thing is…and the view into it. So interesting to see how things look sectioned…
It’s perfect in it’s newness. But the days following I’m sure it’s going to go thru an ugly period like most wounds do before they heal, and I’d especially be worried about any bacteria because it’s so open. I’m wondering about the pain, not so much in amputation but afterwards when it’s sore. And phantom pain.
Amputation is not for me, but I find it very interesting and I’d like to hear about (and see) the stages of healing.
Have you ever read the book “a prayer for owen meany” by john irving? a character gets out of being drafted to go to vietnam by amputating his trigger finger… so there’s an idea for y’all in case the powers that be decide to invade a few more countries.
y’know, i don’t have any tattoos or piercings or anything at all. i’m a medical student, conscious of hygiene, safety, functionality, and other people’s prejudices, and the closest I come to making a statement with my body is to keep a scruffy face, scraggly hair, and run around barefoot as much as humanly possible. The most extremely modified things on my body include the scar on my thumb from a drunken rooftop climbing accident, the graphite mark from where I accidentally stabbed the palm of my hand with a pencil in Mrs. King’s 4th grade geography class, and my super-thick calloused feet. So you might expect me to be pretty conservative when it comes to body modification. But y’know, I think this DIY thumb removal is really interesting and shows a lot of character (of some sort). I love looking at the anatomy of it. I think it’ll look awesome when it’s healed. It says a lot while being sublimely simple. One of the reasons that I don’t think I’ll ever get a tattoo is that there’s just no one image or piece of art that I feel so close to that I would want to wear the damn thing for the rest of my life. My scars, however – those each tell a story about where I’ve been. What story does this “scar” (i.e. shortened distal phalange) tell? Hmmm.
I’d like this amputation more if it were inadvertent. An accident with a buzz saw. An unfortunate encounter with a pit bull. A rampaging samurai. A stray bullet. Necrotizing fasciitis. It’d be kind of freaky (and almost certainly worthy of a psych consult, if I were in doctor mode) for someone to tell you “yes, I purposefully cut off my thumb.” That just prompts a huge, almost endless line of questions. But to say “yep – a rabid leprechaun took a chunk out of me,” why, that’s something that the kids and the whole family can gather round and laugh at and poke and feel good and weird and queasy about.
Please don’t y’all get all freaked out or offended or mean towards each other over this. Of all the crazy shit I’ve seen people doing to their bodies on this site, this thumb amputation has got to be among the safest. And if you look closely, you can still see the top of the thumbnail. He really didn’t cut off much. I’d guess 1/2 to 3/4 of a centimeter at most. That’s just the tip of the bone you see there. It’ll hurt like a monster for a while, but the functionality of his thumb’ll be just about the same as ever.
Hey Shannon – any chance you can coax some more pictures out of Marco, perhaps from several different angles and chronicling the healing process? Looking at this, I’m intruiged and I want to know more. Maybe I have too many toes after all.
peace y’all.
For every 1000 people who do something like this, 999 do it for really bad reasons. If you see a picture of some guy on the Internet who has done it, it’s safe to assume he’s one of the 999. Is it a stereotype? Sure. But most of the people you see walking down the street who look like women actually are. The same is true here.
Sure, there’s that one guy out there who has a perfectly fine reason to do it, but it’s absurd and simple minded to think that everyone who does something like this is just owning his body. There are more people out there who are making cries for help or just desperate for attention than there are who really hate their thumbs.
I was not aware of Godwin’s Law…this Godwin character must have been looking at these pages when he thought that one up 🙂
“Nazis George, Nazis!”
And the BME movie vid is beautiful. It’s also on youtube.com with about 15 comments so far if anyone’s interested in getting something going there. For better for worse.
Wow..
Did it say anywhere if he’s going to try to put it back or anything?
Wouldnt he be very handicapped by having no thumb?
Well, of course he might think its worth it, and, well, if it is to him then it obviously is, but most things would get very complicated when having no thumb, no?
I cannot believe that a do it yourself(DIY) precedure and picture can be done/taken without splater or mess?!
Thanks for your thoughts everyone.
BTW What is this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_Law
🙂
REAL
My dog is an amputee. That is all.
Just have to add my two cents on the whole right/wrong, normal/crazy arguments. Aren’t these questions that must first be answered on a personal level before they can be applied on a societal level? If they are even relevant beyond the personal (which I rarely believe to be true)?
That being said, congrat’s to Marco on the will to do it! Power over self for self.
P.S. And thanks to Shannon for trying to keep our minds open and wondering.
“Hi! This is ModBlog. This is not Bath & Body Works.”
Haha classic. Agreed don’t come to modblog to voice narrow minded opinions. Ignorance is a mental illness haha.
I’m glad I already had my forst coffee this morning…that’s pretty intense!!!
very clean cut, that’s one of the coolest things i’ve ever seen i think
Would it have killed you to blur this?
Amusingly, I’m reminded of a story from “Struwwelpeter”, a German children’s book full of cautionary tales with odd, frequently gruesome “morals”. The story I’m talking about is “Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher” (in English, “The Story of Little Suck-A-Thumb”), about a boy who sucks his thumbs compulsively. Eventually, his mother sends for the tailor to cut them off. 🙂
In German:
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/struwwel/daumen.html
In English:
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/struwwel/daumen_e.html
This book was also adapted into a musical, “Shockheaded Peter”, by the band The Tiger Lillies. Sadly, it’s no longer playing!
ANYWAY, tangent over… this creeped me out a bit but ultimately, very interesting to see what the inside of a thumb actually looks like… and he did a good job!
#100 – Yeah well the drummer from Def Leppard only has one arm, but that doesn’t mean they don’t suck too.
Well, I appreciate the post regardless of alot of the assholes above me. I am a bit intrigued by the lack of blood though. Is there any word on if he tied the thumb off first? I could kind of assume that from the picture.
I just ate a sandwich before looking at modblog. Now I feel sick.
That takes alot of courage, to cut of your own thumb. Props for that.
That’s one heck of a clean cut.
I agree with coment 65.
But beyond that, shannon, The little part of me that loves playing traditional middle eastern style drumming cringed when you said to hell with the ring finger. My left ring finger is the most important finger in my “ka”!
Reminds me of the April fools day on BME ages ago with the twins doing the supposed amputation and re-attachment. Amputation always seems to get people worked up…
I cant cut a carrot that cleanly… impressive.
I suppose this is alright as far as it offers pleasure and happiness to the one doing it. Something makes me think the pleasure is short lived. And, who knows, he might find uses for his thumb in later life that he didn’t know existed. Needless to say I’d never do it. I like things of beauty and this is not one of them. To me.
Typical. Absolutely typical. This is the first – and LAST – time I ever eat my dinner whilst checking modblog. You’d think I’d know better by now…
Also, imagine the fun if Shannon announced that there was a bit of photoshopping involved after all…. hehe
hmmm….I read some medical instructions once and everytime it comes to amputation they stress the necessity of leaving a flap of skin attached.
You need this extra skin to sew the wound, so the stretching of the remaining skin will not impair movement (even the DIY-Yakuza sees this point…).
The only way this wound could heal quite safely is by cauterizing it….
DIY or not, I believe this amptation was performed without a trace of medical hindthought.
It´s a clumsy job and I really hope it heals without infection and will form a usable stump.
BUT SEEK PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT! That wound is bound ruin your whole Hand!
ah sorry for that orthographic Kamikaze…
for unknown reasons I find this picture somehow less offensive than all the girls that have to get naked to show their piercings or tattoos that could easily be seen with clothes on. apart from this, the rest of his thumb reminds me off a piece of fatty sausage (I didn’t find a proper translation for “mettwürstchen”).
Oops. the link in my last post has a typo and takes you to some typo ad site…
BigAL has a point – my mum had her leg amputated below the knee a few years ago, and i remember part of the procedure was to leave a flap of skin that was folded over to protect the bone. Ineresting to see how it heals.
I’ve seen a ton of naked amputations where no real wound closure was done due to there being no flap. Absolutely some people did have problems, but it was not the norm.
I’d also say that the vast majority of DIY ampuations are not closed. That said, it’s not particularly hard to find doctors willing to do it electively if they think you’re not a nutter and won’t get them in trouble.
Maybe he’s a creationist and this is his stand against evolution…
is that the jig he used in the upper right hand corner of the picture? goddamn…
I agree with BigAL above, I hope this person sought treatment after the event. I watched my fathers leg become infected pre and post amputation, it’s no joke.
House_frau (not an ironic name, I’m assuming – you do know that it connotes things other than homemaker, right?)
I do want kids. I’m an extremely maternal person, and extremely competent at looking after children. I’m just aware that it’s a selfish decision, and that childbirth, no matter how sophisticated medical technologies, sometimes causes death.
Of course having children is selfish! No-one’s forcing people to add to an already excessive world population.
The ethos at the moment is that people should be congratulated simply for producing them – no, congratulations should come when the child grows up into an intelligent, mature adult thanks to the parents’ influence.
There’s nothing wrong with selfish decisions that hurt no-one, despite those decisions being painful and sometimes unpleasant. That was my point.
I was also just trying to demonstrate that perhaps, in 30 years’ time, modification will be as acceptable among reasonable people as homosexuality.
Finally, why is “mentally ill” a perjorative term? Why is true mental illness – bipolar disorder, schizophrenia etc. any more harmful than nasty, judgemental attitudes? I’m sure the latter have caused more misery around the world than the former. Prejudiced people commit far more murders than schizophrenics…
Also, make a list of the world’s most intelligent, creative, innovative people. A much larger proportion than average are or were mentally ill.
I’d like a world filled with insane people with IQs over 180, please, rather than one filled with “ordinary” people unable to look past their own personal preferences and see a larger picture.
Em, you have no point. A responsible mother doing everything in her power to keep herself and her baby healthy cannot be called selfish JUST because things can happen that are out of her hands and of the medical community’s. For the same reason, doctors shouldn’t perform surgeries etc.There’s an amount of hazard in everything. It would be more accurate to say it’s selfish of some people in certain circumstances.
I think having my middle finger pierced (transfingering) made me a lot more aware of what fingers you catually end up using the most. I agree if i did it again i’d do the ring finger since it was the least used and easy to keep out of the way.
Yeah well the drummer from Def Leppard only has one arm, but that doesn’t mean they don’t suck too.
Yeah, ’cause Def Leppard are so totally in the same league as Django Reinhardt.
Whatta maroon.
thats so awesome! first time i’ve gasped at something on modblog in a long time. this rules.
ok. no dinner today.
Okay….this has nothing to do with the modification, but I don’t understand how people…human beings can be so naive about overpopulation.
I direct you to The Population Bomb and/or The Population Explosion by Paul R. Ehrlich.
I also direct you to any of the Ishmael books by Daniel Quinn.
I also direct you to look out your window. Look around you…You honestly think there is no population problem? You’re fooling yourself.
…ay…I suppose that’s okay. We’re all going to die soon anyway….at least I hope.
EWWWWW *queasy*
*sighs* I pity the ignorant and I also pity the sheep.
What “Marco” did, “Marco” did on hiw OWN accord…Be there mental issues or not.
When will the prejudice views stop? Are we not suppose to be trying to work towards a better future?
I work in an environment where literally everytime I pull up ModBlog they say: “Do you GET that?”
The point is not whether I “GET” it or not. The point is that ModBlog/BMEZINE is here to DOCUMENT any and all forms of Modification, whatever it may be.
Personally I DON’T “get it”…But its not up to me to “get it” nor is it up to any of you. The only person that has to “get it” and “live with it” is this individual named “Marco”. All we really need to do is respect his wishes. So if he wants to cut some digits off, it has ABSOLUTELY ZERO IMPACT ON OUR LIVES.
So why must we CONSTANTLY be forced/compelled to constantly attack/pre-judge someone, for having different thoughts/feelings/emotions/views?
If we cannot stop with this bullshit, we’re NEVER going to evolve into the next level of human social evolution.
I opted to take this road, rather than RIP APART every fuckin ignorant post that has been put up on this comment section.
Because if I attempted that, it’d take the better part of my day.
I will say the ONLY thing “surgical cleanliess” about this image is the precise nature of the cutting. Everything else in this picture is CLEARLY not “surgical” related.
As I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen wood, as well as the other objects in the picture. It’s a “dirty” DIY surgical procedure through and true. As if this was a proper surgical procedure, the backdrop would be IMMENSELY different.
You definetley need thumbs to play the Wii.
Wow, I’m pretty impressed of how clean the cut is…
This inspires me to some physical studies!
In 2004, in nearby lost two fingers during an accident. The surgeon just wanted to cut them off and i argued about 20 minutes with him until he just let me keep my stuff.
Looking back in wich fears i’ve been during this argumentation, i feel very disturbed by looking at this photograph.
But also, i feel great respect on someone who just has the control to his body and mind to do something like this.
Me for my part, i like getting tattooed, but this one impressed me!
as a journalism student, i’d take two bullets apiece for free speech and open discussion, but i gotta say… i think the comment function on modblog is 95% a waste of time, and shannon, i think you should disable it.
yes, i realize the irony of expressing that sentiment in a comment, but there it is.
if there were nothing but discussions on here about the processes, techniques, where people could find more info about the procedure, etc., that would be excellent. unfortunately, a solid majority of the comments i see on here are either a) some variation on the theme of “wow, i’m really open-minded and support your right to modify yourself!”, or b) “that’s crap. that’s stupid. why’d you do that.” the first is pretty benign, but generally useless; the second one completely ruins the whole experience. the people who contribute to this site don’t need to be criticized as mentally unstable by a bunch of strangers who just want to get up on their moral soapbox and have an intellectual pissing contest. especially not about something they can’t change. do you think marco is gonna go back and reattach his thumb because people think it’s icky? probably not. do you think he might look at the site and be offended that people are saying he’s mentally unstable? most likely. so why the hell bother? you’re not doing him any favors, and you’re not gonna change anybody else’s mind either.
and why give people a forum to trash other people’s mods if it’s hardly being used for anything constructive? shut down the comment feature.
I injured my leg a few years ago and it’s been painful ever since. Every now and again I get a urge to just chop it off and have a pirate style peg leg; and seeing these on Modblog make me happy that I’m not alone in thinking things like this.
He is really going to miss that body part. And why was this done again? I think some one needed more attention as a child. This is why we need mothers at home with the children as they grow up. As a person up in years I have seen a lot of self destruction in my day with having a mentally ill grand parent and all but this is terrible. Maybe he just needed to get a real job. What do you do when you run out of body parts to cut off or a way to hold the tool up and cut something off. Well its been real. God bless.
I think most people who have problems with self-amputation might know/ be aware of that actually this act “helps” these people tremendously for personal reasons even above the physical aspect. It’s been talked about by psychiatrists and I need to find those different articles online.
I find no problem whatsoever with people doing what they want to themselves to feel better or even for personal aesthetics, it beats hands down making fun of other people’s tragedies (see a few posts under).
I actually have a friend with only one arm (not amputated, born that way), and the guy kicks my ass at video games. Sometimes not even on the wii.
Anyway, putting aside all the ranting one way or another about the mental health of this person, I think that this is a really interesting area of the mod community and I hope that at some point in the future there can be an unemotional, nonjudgmental discussion of the topic. I don’t understand the desire to be an amputee for the same reason that most people here opposed to it have acted with revulsion: because it inhibits functioning. Personally, I agree with Shannon and others that a person has an unlimited right to control over their own bodies, and I respect no law that says otherwise.
However, I can’t get past the fact that amputation (if not this one, then more extensive ones) can have serious consequences for and limitations upon a person’s ability to function. As a person who doesn’t desire an amputation, I see it as a limiting experience, not a liberating one.
Yet don’t people engage in these sorts of activities on a daily basis? Drugs, illegal or prescription, can have dangerous consequences for the individual and those around them, despite the fact that they can make that individual happier. In such a situation I can understand why people would view such an alteration in a perjorative sense, because it can be dangerous to the rest of the population, yet I can foresee no contingency in which self-amputation could be harmful for others.
Is it the permanence of such an alteration that causes this visceral reaction? Or is it merely the physical as opposed to the mental nature? People don’t often question the motives of a person undergoing plastic surgury if they are trying to achieve the social somatic ideal, even if it does limit their functioning (e.g. botox). Is the revulsion to amputation then just another extension of people misunderstanding and attacking the desire to move away from the ideal body image rather than towards it?
Truth is, I’m not sure. But I’m willing to talk about it.
This is sooo weird, that thumb really disgusts me! I almost can´t look at the picture!
If it had been a bit moore blood in the picture I dont think I would have been so diskusted :s
149: Meegs, I agree with you to a point. The Comment function of Modblog is inundated with garbage posts either validating (Yay! Neato!) or vilifying (Oh noes! Stoopt!), all of which is really irrelevant in the scope of Modblog as I understand it. It’s really unavoidable in an open-forum environment in the context of the Internet, though.
However, I disagree with your suggestion to shut down the feature (not that I think Shannon ever really would). Buried deep in the muck of idle judgement, there are the discussions that really do contribute to the worth of Modblog, and that reason alone validates the function of the Comments feature, even if you have to wade through the mass of redundant posts to get there. Even some of the validate/vilify posts have legitimate questions or positions in them worth addressing.
It’s also the nature of an open “Comments” feature, as opposed to a moderated message forum system.
As a mentally ill person(with the papers to prove it), what’s with all the maligning!?! Being crazy doesn’t equal cutting off digits….and cutting off digits doesn’t equal crazy.
For the record, I still have my thumbs.
And it was the lack of blood that grossed me out, rather than the amputation itself or the implications thereof.
I…am speechless. That is fucking gorgeously done!
…although all this hate shit flying around in here from the uninformed/close-minded/control freaks kinda bums me out. Honestly. What the hell…stay out of this site if you don’t like it.
Shannon, man, you rock, and we all know it, cause you enable us to be privy to wonders such as this.
I ‘m 100% behind the right to own your body, as long as you do what you do with a sober and clear mind and for some reason I doubt that someone with BIID has a sober mind. Of course, I don’t know if the person in question is in fact mentally ill (and no there’s nothing wrong with that unless it influences your life negatively and most mentally ill people would rather be healthy any day) or does this for aesthetic reason, the thrill or sheer stupidity. But guess what, I cannot judge this from a picture of a cut thumb and your own self-indulging blabber whether this person actually thought this through or not, so I’m left to form my own admittedly biased opinion. How about providing a statement from the people whose antics give so much traffic to your blog, instead of posting a gory picture and anticipate the ooh and aahs of gawkers?
ouch. i know for sure i wouldn’t do this, well not for sure but at the moment i am pretty sure. But either was its pretty interesting on why a person would decide to do that. I seriously doubt they are crazy. And I have nothing against it and wouldn’t go off judging as many people here, but i just don’t understand how this could be gorgeous? Hehe, but I must say, this is the first BME pic I just can’t look at, the lack of blood is really intimidating, and also the inside of the thumb itself is rather shocking. It’s really a wonder to me how somebody can do that themselves. I couldn’t even pierce my lobes myself. It must be pretty weird when you just amputate it, the absence of the tip of the finger. I wonder why they chose thumb, I would go for the ring finger, I like how that looks.
>>153
I think it is the permanence that causes some of the reaction – at least for me, that’s part of what makes the decision so interesting. You can’t go back, and what was part of your body, under your control, suddenly isn’t. What is the nature of that change? Where is the line? If it matters, I’ve always been sort of interested in other decisions people make that utterly change their lives in an instant too.
In the main people seem to feel that botox wears off, so isn’t permanent in the same way. However, when the topic of “what if it doesn’t?” comes up, there are definitely plenty of people who will criticize botox users for doing possible (possible, even!) permanent damage to themselves.
There is something different about permanent modifications, particularly those that may (depending upon definitions in some cases) either impair, or perhaps better put, permanently change a person’s daily functioning or relationship with others. That’s partly why there are so many posts asking for interviews and what not when those mods are shown, I think.
It’s fine to say “mods are mods” but really, hideability and reversibility are factors in what makes a mod “out there” or cause it to gather a lot of commentary (of all sorts). Lots of places won’t do face/hand tattoos as a first tattoo. Look at the reactions to the guy with the all-face skull tattoo, everyone wonders, what will he say about it in 20 years, because it’s so unhideable, and as a tattoo, pretty much permanent (although if he tires of the skull, he could go for the all-black face). Hence all the “wow he’s got balls” comments (and no one seemed to mind those). Small designs on the shoulder and what not don’t tend to get “wow he’s got balls” comments, and it’s not hard to imagine why. Plenty of piercings, too, people say “well, I can always take it out if I change my mind.”
…so yeah, the permanance is part of the interest, at least for me.
I’ll put in a vote for keeping the comments, as well – sure, there are a lot of the “how could they?” “he’s insane” “I can’t believe not everyone is utterly in love with it!” “look how openminded *I* am!” stuff, but there is often thought-provoking commentary as well, not to mention that people who know the subject in the photo often supply extra details.
>>109
Aha, that’s the edge of the nail? That explains why there’s no big bone in the middle then, I guess, I was wondering…
/time for dinner!
argh! tatjana! you’re my new best friend! i read Ishamel quite a while ago and it really moved me. I lent it to someone and never got it back and couldnt remember the name cos ive had the over population conversation with sooo many people and have always wanted to recommend it. for some reason i thought it was called ezekiel… excellent!
im still baffled by why people bother coming to modblog and commenting on things just to prove how narrow minded and unaccepting they are. someone way below mentioned how plastic surgery is so common and few people have a problem with that, those people are drastically modifiying their bodies with procedures that do carry risks, but because theyre modifiying themselves to become more like what society deems aesthetically “perfect” its not considered sad or worrying? i think thats FAR sadder, that someone has to do that to themselves to live up to an expectation that has been forced on them their wholes lives, and not just because it feels right to them for whatever reason.
having said that, gimme ten grand and its boob jobs ahoy for panties!
160: That’s true about the botox, but many plastic surgury operations can limit functioning in more subtle ways, like large breast implants causing back problems. Though I suppose implants can be removed, the back problems can persist. That’s mainly what I was getting at.
Thats a good point with facial tattooing, I remember that one, but the majority of negative reactions provoked seemed to be more along the lines of questioning his intelligence, not his mental stability. I’m curious as to what people think creates that distinction.
158: As far as making decicions with a “sober and clear mind,” it’s been my experience that most people in the mainstream think that modded people of any type are mentally ill. Why is amputation any different?
implants can be removed ether, but ive seen a lot of girls that even if they took them out, are pretty much mutilated for life in a way that i dont think anyone, open minded or not, finds particularly attractive.
oh, and for the record, i agree with the over population argument 100%. aside from living in a country where people are persistantly trying to live in just about permamently drought ridden and barren areas, i dont think anyone that’s read Ishmael could NOT agree
I wonder where you live, Ether, cause in my experience the average Joe does not question the sanity of the average modified person anymore. Or at least not as often. It’s when the modification gets extreme to the point where it hinders one’s simplest activities, then ones sanity comes in question. By the way, I’m modified myself, though I vastly prefer the term decorated. Modified implies some sort of “repair” to me.
It’s so…clean.
Personally I think hands with amputated fingers look awesome. Particularly when the ring finger is the one that’s amputated, purely for aesthetic reasons. I’d never do it myself though, I need all my fingers for typing and playing instruments.
Also, I think it’s great for someone to be able to overcome societies closemindedness and be able to do something that will make them happy.
Luxuria, I suppose you’re right. I grew up in the California Bay Area, and there are a lot more open minded people here than other places I’ve been. It just seems like most places I travel outside here, people start giving me the “what’s wrong with you?” act for even a not-so-extreme mod like a nape piercing.
My family’s probably not a good guage either, as they think my soul is in danger of hellfire because of it.
I like the term, by the way.
“I direct you to The Population Bomb and/or The Population Explosion by Paul R. Ehrlich.”
Wait. You mean the book that has never, EVER come true? Just like everything else Ehrlich has written? The man is revered as a god when he’s just a pompous moron. Point me towards someone better than that, please.
Ether, I guess I feel spoiled in the U.S. where nipple piercings seem to be pretty damn common, at least among my circles (goth/punk people). I grew up in the Mediterranean and there anything other than an ear piercing is looked upon as really bizarre to say the least, so I hear you about thinking of your family’s opinion as that of the “mainstream”. I definitely see a *lot* more acceptance here.
ok…..I am sorry for not being as “open” to other peoples opinions as I should be, but if I hear another person on a modblog comments say the person featured needed “more attention as a child” (see ignorant comment #151) I might just lose it. As I said before, about 100 comments ago, dont assume the person’s modivation behind this until you have gotten their side of the story. and please, for christ sake, STOP BLAMING THE CHILDHOOD.
155 = I agree, there is a lot that’s valuable that comes out of this — the site itself is amazing (props shannon, as always). i check it every day, and i occasionally grit my teeth and check the comments. but it’s a matter of percentages for me.
you’re a kindergarten teacher with a class of 15; you give your kids paint to use. 4 of the kids create beautiful, talented paintings, but the other 11 aren’t mature enough to use it and throw the paint everywhere, eat it, rub it in each others’ eyes — in a case like that, you don’t defer to the creative minority and put up with the destructive majority. you take the paint away until all or even most of the kids grow up and can use it constructively.
empress, house frau and the rest… stop eating the damn paint.
I’s never do it. It squicks me out.
At the same time, I’m not going to fault either the people who say it’s wonderful, nor the people who say it’s stupid, in their opinion. Having a choice of opinion, even if you don’t like it, is more important even than having a choice of body mod…even if you don’t like it.
Sorry for not looking through all the replies to see if someone mentioned this already, but your information about the ring finger being the weakest is incorrect.
As a rockclimber I know that the 1st ‘team’, middle and ring is the strongest, followed by 2nd team, middle and pointer and 3rd team is weakest, pinkie and ring.
thats pretty amazing, does he still have a knuckle or is it at the knuckle?
As far as impacting his life, my mom’s father lived with half a thumb for most of his life, along with other amputated fingers, the cost of being a carpenter and an airplane mechanic, and it never stopped him from doing anything, including making me all the furniture I had in my nursery.
Hell, my other grandfather had only one arm since a battle in WWII, and it never made a dent in his lifestyle other than he had to learn to tie his shoes with one hand, and hold me as a baby with one arm.
Maybe its from being around amputated people my whole life, but I don’t think this is so extreme, or freaky, or will impare him in anyway, and its almost insulting to think that it would. I’m sure he knew what he was doing and was ready to adap to anything that might change with this choice.
Obviously this person thinks its asethically pleasing, and I can’t disagree that I wasn’t fascinated by my grandpa’s amputations as a kid.
My grandparents did not choose what happened to thier bodies, but not once did I see either of them with fake fingers or a fake arm because there is nothing wrong with the way it looks, fuck everyone else.
thats pretty amazing, does he still have a knuckle or is it at the knuckle?
As far as impacting his life, my mom’s father lived with half a thumb for most of his life, along with other amputated fingers, the cost of being a carpenter and an airplane mechanic, and it never stopped him from doing anything, including making me all the furniture I had in my nursery.
Hell, my other grandfather had only one arm since a battle in WWII, and it never made a dent in his lifestyle other than he had to learn to tie his shoes with one hand, and hold me as a baby with one arm.
Maybe its from being around amputated people my whole life, but I don’t think this is so extreme, or freaky, or will impare him in anyway, and its almost insulting to think that it would. I’m sure he knew what he was doing and was ready to adap to anything that might change with this choice, and as far as I’ve seen, thats not much.
Obviously this person thinks its asethically pleasing, and I can’t disagree since I was fascinated by my grandpa’s amputations as a kid.
My grandparents did not choose what happened to thier bodies, but not once did I see either of them with fake fingers or a fake arm because there is nothing wrong with the way it looks, people look like that all the time.
#168 – There are one hell of a lot of amateur psychologists who post on modblog, aren’t there?! Maybe they should take a good hard look in the mirror……
Sarah, I had directed you to two references, not just one.
If you feel the population explosion is not for you, then I direct you to any of the Ishmael books. In particular, I recommend The Story of B. Daniel Quinn.
If you need more books, I have a vast library. Please contact me and I will send you more titles with authors you may find not so “moronic”, to use your term.
I have an IAM account and can be reached through there.
Come on! This is NOT REAL!
First off, where’s the bone? When you amputate a limb, even a finger, the flesh retracts leaving the bone protruding. Even if the bone were cut later back to the same point, you would be able to see it. Where is it?
Get real. I can’t believe you people sucked this up. I guess that’s why they are called “suckers”.
I lvoe how everyone automatyically lumps things they don’t understand into the “mentally ill individual” category.
As a representative of mentally ill individuals, I can say I have not, nor have had the urge to amputate any part of my body. We’re not all that extreme.
Moving on to the actual picture- if he’s happy then I’m happy for him =) I’m just fascinated by the picture itself.
“#9, you know that until just a few decades ago, being gay was counted as a mental illness, and was completely incomprehensible to most people? Oh wait, you probably still think it is an illness. Gotta love America.
#10, you wouldnât be saying that if the mod was a âniceâ? âfeminineâ? tattoo. Can you explain why one is a positive thing and the other a negative thing, WITHOUT referring to your own aesthetic preferences?
By all means discuss those preferences, just donât conceal them behind a wall of wilful misunderstanding.
I personally find getting tattooed extremely painful. I guess this would be painful too. Having kids in the future will fuck up my body far more than an amputation (having kids being a selfish decision however itâs dressed up – the world is overpopulated already).
I guess Cere put it more succinctly.”
I wouldn’t call being gay and cutting off your own thumb the same thing.
Jane Q. Public – It’s not fake.
If you want to be critical of a mod then fair enough. It’s easy to understand why some people could be grossed out by something like this. However to then go on to insult the person or assume something about them is not right. The mods a person has says nothing about who they are. Just as clothes someone wears or the car someone drives, it doesn’t say anything about the person. I think it’s unfair to insult someone and call them mentally ill just because they chose to do something like this which effects no one but the person who did it.
As I read through these comments I keep thinking that it really doesn’t matter if you like it or don’t like it, it’s his fucking thumb not yours!!! People are so quick to judge what other people do with their lives and their bodies. Against tattoos??? Don’t fucking get one!!! Against piercings??? Don’t fucking get one!!! Against homosexuality??? Don’t be an asshole!!! Against abortion??? Don’t have one!!!
But don’t think for a minute that any of us really gives a shit what you have to say about your own “morality”
-Clay
[email protected]
“It is safe to say that no other superstition is
so detrimental to growth, so enervating and
paralyzing to the minds and hearts of the
people, as the superstition of Morality.”
-Emma Goldman
sorry for the angry post, just really sick of people forcing their morals on the world. Makes me sick!
184 posts? holy moly thats gotta be a record….
It is a record Tanya. I’m putting it in my book.
Total fake. He already had a missing thumb. Suckers.
Jane Q. Public
There’s no bone? Maybe you haven’t looked at enough severed limbs enough in your life, or maybe I’ve just seen too many…..ummm…yeah, movin on.
If you LOOK at the lower portion of the thumb you’ll see a rather large circular white shape.
That ain’t no Mentos, the fresh maker, or a Tic Tac inside the wound.
It appears to be a very smooth, crisp, clean cut/severing of tissue and bone.
Maybe stop watching horror movies my dear, as they very rarely show clean cuts…Because, well, chainsaws and all that sort don’t cut so well/smooth.
I wonder where the line is drawn between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” reasons for amputations. I think most people would agree that people with BIID have valid reasons, and should be given the surgery they desire.
But I wonder if people who amputate out of curiosity, or because of a particular fetish, are actually more likely to regret their decisions – but I doubt enough people have done it for a proper study to look at the relationship between the reason and the long term effect. I’m assuming that people who do it out of curiosity or fetish are screened out of the procedure by doctors, being “unsuitable”, do it DIY and so can’t be studied post-op, like those with BIID who have been allowed the surgery.
I find tho whole topic of amputation – how it’s done, BIID, acrotomophilia, prosphetic limb technology – endlessly fascinating, and I’m glad it’s on ModBlog. All forms of modification should be documented, not just the “pretty” ones.
so i’ve recently been informed they do make spoons that small.
first off.. this was very pretty.
its about the expercience..
gorgeous.
i’ve always wondered what that would look like.
As someone who accidentally lost the tip of his middle finger (crushed in a hydraulic wood splitter) and accidentally severed his pinky, requiring a tendon repair, I can say that pretty much is what the inside of a finger looks like, except I would have expected some empty space where the tendons would retract. The cut must be close to a joint. I hate the way the crushed tip of my middle finger looks and I have considered cutting it off at the first knuckle, but I worry about the tendon retracting and having a stump that can’t move. I work with my hands and any loss of mobility would be an incumberment. The pain if it isn’t really a consideration, I’ve had enough traumatic injuries and done a few rituals that involve pain so I am pretty sure I could handle the pain if I prepare for it. It’s always the pain that upsets the “normal” people te most, that and the fact that you are moving away or even downright rejecting accepted societal norms of appearance. These same people would see nothing wrong with someone getting breast implants, which has a lengthy and painful recovery.
Sorry, I don’t buy that. I cut my thumb off at the first knuckle on a shear at a sheet metal company and my thumb did not look like that. Whats with the wrap around the thumb? It must have been cut off awhile ago and your’re putting some prostetic on it.
post 192.
Tendon Retracting. Thats exactly what happend to me. It sucks, and I’ve been living with it for 15 years. I’m just lucky that I’m right handed and it was my left thumb that got mangled.
wow what a heated discussion here!!
1) pretty obvious: YOU SHOULD EXPECT MODIFIED THUMBS ON A MODIFICATION WEBSITE!
2) THE WORLD IS NOT OVERPOPULATED!
3) WHY ALWAYS THE POOR NAZIS? as if they weren’t just another alternative group like modifiers …
4) i laughed for 10 mins about \n./ !!!!!!
Its cool to pretend you think this is fake to get attention.
I find myself disgusted at some of the close-minded comments posted about this
Suffering from mental problems myself, it is not the reason why I have wanted an amputation of my little toe. I have hear of thousands of mentally ill people – yet they don’t go belting off body limbs
This man did it because he appreciated the beauty of the modification – so good for him
I have a disorder called Body Integrity Identity Disorder, which means one has a craving for an amputation not fior any sexual reason, but more to do with the fact that the offending digit is like an alien part to me. Amputation is the only way to treat this. I have suffered with this over five years now, adn I can’t even begin to explain the aggravation and upset it has caused me. What pains me is I cant even get it treated because at present, a reputable doctor will not remove a healthy limb
I will have to do it myself. Since I’m a sap, I don’t know when that will be. But it is going to happen one day, when I finally can’t stand my toe any longer
But even if I didn’t have BIID, I’d still support this man’s decision, it’s his body and his choice
However, regardless of why this man chose to get rid of his thumb, it’s up to him what he does. It’s his thumb. If you think it’s disgusting, fine. But there’s no need to use insults to show that – that only proves how childish you are, #11
You knew what this was about. Frankly, if people are going to say this is “sick” “ugly” “mental illness” then why did you read it?
If you can’t accept that there are various forms of body modification on here, and view it with an open mind, then you’re not open minded or mature enough to view BME in the first place
If you dont like the content on BME, then fuck outta here. I apologise openly to anyone this offends, but like CajunChefClay, people trying to force their idiotic ‘morals’ on others makes me want to throw up – it’s not right
Everybody has different tastes Empress (~11) – if you don’t like, don’t look. There’s the red cross at the top right of the screen – you may use it!
On a nicer note, this looks great! Very nice, clean cut
post 197.
ok if you want to amputate a finger or thumb then I can set u up with a Sheet metal notcher or a shear – which can take as many digits as you want… just make sure you have good insurance because I’m not going to cover you.
And by the way I was rederected to this site just to see what someone elses thumb looked liked.
For those of you that wish to amputate that you you were born with; please make sure its part of your reporductive system.
Post #197
Sorry, I made a mistake. If you want your itsy bitsy toe sheard off, then I can help you out. Tho you do need a very good health insurance policy for my company to help.
Holy Sheet.
I just checked out this rest of this site and realized you are all nuts.
Hope you all make it in the real world when you get to 30+
I’m sure as hell not going to hire you.
Noman: That’s ok. Plenty of other people will :]
We’re not nuts, we’ve just chosen a different life to you. Get over it.
I think Noman needs to read a little about modified scientists:
http://modblog.bmezine.com/2007/02/13/modified-scientists/
‘For those of you that wish to amputate that you you were born with; please make sure its part of your reporductive system.’
Given this pathetic comment, I think Noman really needs to get a life
‘For those of you that wish to amputate that you you were born with; please make sure its part of your reporductive system.’
Given this pathetic comment, I think Noman really needs to get a life on top of that
Not to worry, I’m doing this myself – I dont need any help with it. If I want to do it, and its the right time, I will do it. And I’m not going to do it with a pair of poxy shears
Grow up
Fascinating and beautiful.
Noman is one of many people. Jobs recquire you to look a certain way. It’s just how the working world is. So you people just need to stop bashing him for it.
As for the thumb, since there is something around it, I don’t quite believe it. Especially since the anatomy of it looks wrong. So unless this person’s thumb is just fucked, or it’s fake because there is more tissue on the pads of your thumb than there is a bone there. The bone above the knuckle is more towards the nail, rather than the pads like it’s shown in the photo. The bone below the knuckle is somewhat in the middle. And the knuckle obviously takes a large portion of the thumb.
So either way wherever he cut it, it looks wrong just by where the bone is.
I’d like to see someone correct me on this.
But I have a strong belief that it’s fake.
Gross and pointless.
i think it’s funny how some ppl tell ppl. to shut-up if they don’t like their comments or feelings on the subject. Let ppl be intitled to their oppinion. There’s a reason for the comment box! To comment on the picture, to say whether they think it’s “gross” or “cool”.
Just wondering what the person who did the amputation is thinking while reading these comments. I’d be laughing my ass off!!
You can’t compare this sort of mod with tattooing… nor any other sort of mod.
1) I think it is photoshopped.. but that’s me
2) A mod like this alters the functionality and life of the human. I am not sure what the definition of body mod is… but art for art’s sake is one thing… but limiting the functionality of the human form… is… odd.
Not wrong… not bad. Just doesn’t make much sense.
I mean… having a tattoo doesn’t limit you like this… you are still a perfectly functioning member of society.
Now how is he going to snap his fingers, cock a trigger, etc. I think making yourself less human to be more human… or different… or an artistic statement…
will be lost on everyone less the one that did it.
I ain’t wasting my thumb power for this cat tho.
I’m not sure how I feel about amputation. It looks impressive, and if it is what you want, then sure, wicked, whatever. BUT I don’t think I would dabble in it myself.
It looks amazingly clean though, and I find the how process of amputation very interesting, aswell as the motives.
wow, how did i miss this?!
posted on my birthday, too!
getting to see the inside of a thumb would’ve been such a sweet 21st birthday present!
the ignorance in some of these comments is astounding. though i’ll have to admit, i stopped reading all the negative ones after the nazi reference. oh, godwin’s law.
bme pain olympics??? anyone?????
Great picture… sometimes I wish I could do that… guess it will stay a dream… now get your feet back on the ground Anktsunamunh! [I’m a bass player… I use all of my fingers to work and enjoy life!]
What you’d do this to yourself, whatever. i getting paid to doing this on people owing money to my employer. most the is screaming and crying and begging. to making man living with pain… i enjoy much to take the life of man. which is good. not that i do. if you needing the thumb to be gone, i will doing on you.
I found the video that Marco recorded during the process.
http://www.toxicjunction.com/get.asp?i=v3811
I fellupon this pic by accident. My mind raced and I placed my hand on my head as my heartbeat increased. Even after e few minutes i felt light headed, not because of the gore, you paint a mental picture of yourself doing this to your own thumb and it makes you freak out in your mind.
wicked shit man.
wicked.